-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- The scoreboard was clear .

Winner : 11-year-old Sebastien De La Cruz , `` El Charro de Oro '' -LRB- the golden horseman -RRB- who became a national story after he sang the national anthem at Game 3 of the NBA playoff series between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat and showed a lot of a talent , heart and class .

Losers : The haters and racists who -- displaying a lot of ignorance -- hid behind the anonymity of Twitter to spew venom and attack the little guy because they thought that no one dressed in a mariachi outfit was certified American enough to sing `` The Star-Spangled Banner . ''

Here 's a sample :

`` This lil Mexican snuck in the country like 4 hours ago now he 's singing the anthem '' -- Francois@A2daO

`` Who dat lil #Wetback sangin the national anthem at the #Heat game ???? '' -- TJ THA DJ@Tj_Tha_Dj

`` Ca n't believe they had the nerve to have a beaner sing the national anthem of AMERICA #smh '' -- THE_GREAT_WHITE@bdub597

`` Is this the American National Anthem or the Mexican Hat Dance ? Get this lil kid out of here '' -- StevenDavid@A1R_STEVEN

`` So illegal aliens can sing The National Anthem @ games now ? '' -- Mr.CheckYaDm@DJ_BMONEY

What does it mean to be an American anyway ? Here 's a quiz :

On one hand , you have someone who goes before a national audience and shows his love for a country where dreams come true .

On the other , you have an angry mob filled with hatred and racism that , cloaked in the anonymity of Twitter , spews invective at a child .

Now , which do you think represents what it means to be an American ? Who do you want to claim ? And who would you send packing ?

The United States looks out for the powerless , the downtrodden and the oppressed . Our system of government -- a constitutional republic -- protects the minority because majorities can protect themselves .

Meanwhile , De La Cruz took the high road .

Boy returns for NBA encore in mariachi suit

`` For those that said something bad about me , I understand it 's your opinion , '' Sebastien told CNN . `` I 'm a proud American and live in a free country . It 's not hurting me . It 's just your opinion . ''

Later , he discussed the backlash with reporters .

`` To be honest , '' he said , `` It 's just the people how they were raised . My father and my mother told me that you should never judge people by how they look . You should judge them on the inside . And the saying that I go by is never judge a book by its cover . ''

I do n't have that kind of self-restraint . When I hear stories like this , I get sad . Then , I get enraged .

I mean , enough is enough !

De La Cruz is a Mexican-American born in San Antonio .

That means he is part of a community that has -- since Manifest Destiny , the U.S.-Mexican War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 -- put up with more than 100 years of discrimination and mistreatment at the hands of those who consider themselves superior .

Even if , as the racist tweets show , they do n't always act in ways that convey this alleged sense of superiority .

The part about De La Cruz being Mexican-American , as opposed to a Mexican immigrant , is essential to the story . It 's a complicated road .

`` They do n't know my life , '' he told reporters about his tormentors . `` My father was actually in the Navy for a really long time ... People do n't know , they just assume that I 'm just Mexican . But I 'm not from Mexico . I 'm from San Antonio born and raised , a true San Antonio Spurs fan . ''

When De La Cruz did an interview with Univision , the Spanish-language network , he did it in English .

And this is what the nativists were worried about -- that Mexican-Americans are not assimilating ?

The next chapter will be where some Mexican-Americans actually turn on De La Cruz for appearing to distance himself from Mexico . If they do , they 'll look as silly as the nativists . The `` distance '' is already there . He 's not a Mexican . He 's a Mexican-American . There is a difference .

Finally , thanks to the San Antonio Spurs -- and especially some good people in the front office -- a story that had many Latinos , and other Americans , seething had a Hollywood ending .

De La Cruz was invited back to perform an encore of the national anthem at Game 4 . Flanked by San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro , and his wife Erica -- the boy returned to center stage and belted out an even stronger performance the second time around . I bet there was n't a dry eye in the arena .

As for the haters , they did what bullies usually do when someone stands up to them . They ran and hid , disabling their Twitter accounts or deleting their comments .

For De La Cruz , who was aware of the comments and the controversy but managed to stay above it , the call-back was n't political but personal .

`` To be invited back to sing the national anthem is just amazing because now I know the San Antonio Spurs like how I sing , '' Sebastien said . `` It makes me feel like I 'm doing something legendary . ''

The rest of us know that the encore was about more than the boy 's talent . This was a message . The San Antonio Spurs is a classy outfit that boldly took a stand against bigotry and ignorance .

Naturally . It was the American thing to do .

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ruben Navarrette .

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11-year-old Mexican-American who sang national anthem is bashed on social media

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Ruben Navarrette : The boy is more American than his racist critics

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He was invited back by the San Antonio Spurs and got cheers for his encore